The Struggle is Real: Advanced Students Can't Deal

High school, the origin of stress. From the moment students walk through the entrance gates for the very first time to the last, stress never leaves them. For advanced students, stress seems to go above levels they never thought could be reached. Students are staying up multiple nights to do homework, staying after school to get help, and are expected to go above and beyond teacher’s expectations. It becomes hard for students to keep up, so they begin to struggle.

Freshman year

Nerves begin building up from the thought of entering high school. You arrive and see your schedule. It appears that an honors class is among your other classes which pushes you over the edge. You’re a new student but you already have a lot on your plate. Handling only one honors class doesn’t sound difficult, but with the new school environment it can be stressful. A current freshman, Melody Del Cid, confirms that “it does get slightly stressful.” Trying to adapt to new schedules and teachers is hard to do. With this one honors class, expectations to pass are high because that puts you in the path to become an advanced student. This just happens to be the start of a long cycle of stress.

Sophomore year

Sophomore year, this is the beginning of your second year in high school. A grade level which is looked at when applying to colleges. This year can make or break you. With more than one honors class given to you now, the pressure is on. Sophomore, Jocelyn Zambrano, feels the pressure herself. Her insight on the struggle of being a 10th grader is that “honors classes are stressful because teachers tend to put pressure [on] those who they want to succeed.” In this case, Jocelyn is one who goes through the struggle to succeed.

Junior year

The start of APs. Students can be given up to four AP classes, but that is not always a good idea. Pressure and stress tends to overwhelm AP students which makes it tough. Every AP class needs to be seen as a priority because at the end of the second semester, students take AP exams. If passed, these tests are an extra boost that allow you to skip certain classes that are required to take in college. Cristina Villalobos, a Junior at Libra Academy, is currently taking four AP classes. She explains: “I stay up late, and I’m sleepy at school.” This is all due to homework given to her. The fact is that she, like many others, procrastinates spending about an “hour of procrastination” and leaves all her homework to do at night. This causes her to sleep at a later time and go to school tired and groggy. She describes this as an “endless cycle” causing stress.

Senior year

Senior year can be either the best or worst year of every teenager’s life. Why? Graduation is coming soon. You can almost taste the freedom. However, senior year isn’t all fun and games. Shelsey Osorio, current senior, stresses about trying to balance “homework, soccer, and college apps.” Making time for academics, sports, and college applications cuts time from one’s social life outside of school. With too much focus on school you can get to the point that “the stress eventually builds up” and you just feel like giving up. Osorio certainly doesn’t find senior year to be stress free because after this year, you’re off into the “real world” where you make your own life happen. However, in the long run the struggle pays off.